Shiner Holiday Cheer | Spoetzl Brewery / Shiner

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T- Dominant notes of very sweet and artificial peach, almost like a peach syrup. There are also some sweet bread, light pecan notes, and light spices.

M-Medium body, low carbonation, and slightly watery finish.

O- The descriptions of this beer sounded very intriguing, but the peach flavor is a bit cloying and very artificial tasting. The pecan flavor was very subtle and pleasant. It is certainly a one-of-a-kind beer for the season that lacks the usual holiday spices, but still manages to evoke the season.

Shiner Holiday Cheer
12 oz. brown glass bottle, coded "325 13 A-1P 08:32" (I have no idea what that means or how fresh it is. I hope that's not the 325th day of 2013!)
$1.83 @ Weis Market, Conshohocken, PA

Who would have expected a dunkelweizen to be the holiday beer from a brewery in Texas? Well that makes perfect sense given the long history of German-immigrant brewers in Texas, and that of the Spoetzl Brewery as well (since 1909). Of course, there's really nothing traditional about this beer either as it's brewed with Texas peaches and roasted pecans as well!

It doesn't exactly look like a "Bavarian-style dark wheat" considering that it's quite clear (I guess it's a kristalweiss), and it has a pretty standard sized head of yellowed khaki. With that said, it's medium-light in body with a fairly moderate carbonation that leaves it silky smooth across the tongue. It looks to me like a Munich dunker, or a dark Vienna lager, but it doesn't matter anyway because once you get to the taste you'll realize that the designation doesn't matter, this is a beer that doesn't really fit any style category.

You can smell the peach in the nose. It's juicy and bright, and it appears in the flavor as well, but not all of the time. Each sip gives you a little bit of a different take on it, sometimes revealing more of the pecan, sometimes more of the malt, and sometimes more of that great peach flavor (probably depending on how much you bring into your mouth, and how long you let it sit before swallowing it). It finishes dry with a toasty, ashen edge.

It's unique, and you've got to give them credit for originality. Additionally, I feel all of the components work together, and stand out at least a little bit on their own. It's balanced by a firm bitterness, and it's pretty nicely polished. It's certainly worth trying!